3. A statute or other law formally adopted by a legislative body: an act of Congress.

4. A formal written record of proceedings or transactions.

5. One of the major divisions of a play, opera, or film.

6.

a. A performance or entertainment usually forming part of a longer presentation: a juggling act; a magic act.

b. The actor or actors presenting such a performance: joined the act in Phoenix.

7. A manifestation of intentional or unintentional insincerity; a pose: put on an act.

v.act·ed, act·ing, acts

v.tr.

1. To play the part of; assume the dramatic role of: She plans to act Ophelia in summer stock.

2. To perform (a role) on the stage: act the part of the villain.

3.

a. To behave like or pose as; impersonate: Don't act the fool.

b. To behave in a manner suitable for: Act your age.

v.intr.

1. To behave or comport oneself: She acts like a born leader.

2. To perform in a dramatic role or roles.

3. To be suitable for theatrical performance: This scene acts well.

4. To behave affectedly or unnaturally; pretend.

5. To appear or seem to be: The dog acted ferocious.

6. To carry out an action: We acted immediately. The governor has not yet acted on the bill.

7. To operate or function in a specific way: His mind acts quickly.

8. To serve or function as a substitute for another: A coin can act as a screwdriver.

9. To produce an effect: waited five minutes for the anesthetic to act.

Phrasal Verbs:

act out

1. To perform in or as if in a play; represent dramatically: act out a story.

2. To realize in action: wanted to act out his theory.

3. To engage in socially inappropriate or impulsive behavior as a manifestation of psychological or emotional pain or turmoil.

act up

1. To misbehave.

2. To malfunction.

3. Informal To become active or troublesome after a period of quiescence: My left knee acts up in damp weather. Her arthritis is acting up again.

Idioms:

be in on the act

To be included in an activity.

clean up (one's) actSlang

To improve one's behavior or performance.

get into the act

To insert oneself into an ongoing activity, project, or situation.

get (one's) act togetherSlang

To get organized.

[Middle English, from Old French acte, from Latin āctus, a doing, and āctum, a thing done, both from past participle of agere, to drive, do; see ag- in Indo-European roots.]

ac′ta·bil′i·ty n.

act′a·ble adj.

Usage Note: Act and action both mean "a deed" and "the process of doing." However, other senses of act, such as "a decision made by a legislative body" and of action, such as "habitual or vigorous activity" show that act tends to refer to a deed while action tends to refer to the process of doing. Thus, people engage in sex acts but not sex actions. By the same token, one may want a piece of the action, but not a piece of the act. The demands of meaning or idiom often require one word or the other. In some cases, either can be used: my act (or action) was premature.

act

(ækt)

n

1. something done or performed; a deed

2. the performance of some physical or mental process; action

3. (Law) (capital when part of a name) the formally codified result of deliberation by a legislative body; a law, edict, decree, statute, etc

4. (Law) (often plural) a formal written record of transactions, proceedings, etc, as of a society, committee, or legislative body

5. (Theatre) a major division of a dramatic work

6. (Theatre)

a. a short performance of skill, a comic sketch, dance, etc, esp one that is part of a programme of light entertainment

b. those giving such a performance

7. an assumed attitude or pose, esp one intended to impress

8. (Philosophy) philosophy an occurrence effected by the volition of a human agent, usually opposed at least as regards its explanation to one which is causally determined. Compare event4

nullity - something that is null (especially an enactment that has no legal validity)

decree, fiat, edict, rescript, order - a legally binding command or decision entered on the court record (as if issued by a court or judge); "a friend in New Mexico said that the order caused no trouble out there"

legitimation - the act of rendering a person legitimate; "he has filial rights because he obtained letters of legitimation from the king"; "his parents' subsequent marriage resulted in his legitimation"

performance, public presentation - a dramatic or musical entertainment; "they listened to ten different performances"; "the play ran for 100 performances"; "the frequent performances of the symphony testify to its popularity"

act - perform an action, or work out or perform (an action); "think before you act"; "We must move quickly"; "The governor should act on the new energy bill"; "The nanny acted quickly by grabbing the toddler and covering him with a wet towel"

satisfice, satisfise - decide on and pursue a course of action satisfying the minimum requirements to achieve a goal; "optimization requires processes that are more complex than those needed to merely satisfice"

manoeuver, manoeuvre, maneuver - act in order to achieve a certain goal; "He maneuvered to get the chairmanship"; "She maneuvered herself into the directorship"

dispatch - dispose of rapidly and without delay and efficiently; "He dispatched the task he was assigned"

race - to work as fast as possible towards a goal, sometimes in competition with others; "We are racing to find a cure for AIDS"

use - habitually do something (use only in the past tense); "She used to call her mother every week but now she calls only occasionally"; "I used to get sick when I ate in that dining hall"; "They used to vacation in the Bahamas"

play it by ear - decide on one's actions as one goes along, depending on the situation; "She didn't know what to expect from her new job, so she played it by ear"

play - act or have an effect in a specified way or with a specific effect or outcome; "This factor played only a minor part in his decision"; "This development played into her hands"; "I played no role in your dismissal"

deal - take action with respect to (someone or something); "How are we going to deal with this problem?"; "The teacher knew how to deal with these lazy students"

exert - make a great effort at a mental or physical task; "exert oneself"

egotrip - act in a way that attracts attention; "This teacher always egotrips and the students don't like him"

reciprocate - act, feel, or give mutually or in return; "We always invite the neighbors and they never reciprocate!"

go, proceed, move - follow a procedure or take a course; "We should go farther in this matter"; "She went through a lot of trouble"; "go about the world in a certain manner"; "Messages must go through diplomatic channels"

come close - nearly do something; "She came close to quitting her job"

act - behave in a certain manner; show a certain behavior; conduct or comport oneself; "You should act like an adult"; "Don't behave like a fool"; "What makes her do this way?"; "The dog acts ferocious, but he is really afraid of people"

behave, act, do - behave in a certain manner; show a certain behavior; conduct or comport oneself; "You should act like an adult"; "Don't behave like a fool"; "What makes her do this way?"; "The dog acts ferocious, but he is really afraid of people"

act, play, represent - play a role or part; "Gielgud played Hamlet"; "She wants to act Lady Macbeth, but she is too young for the role"; "She played the servant to her husband's master"

6.

act - be suitable for theatrical performance; "This scene acts well"

playact, roleplay, act, play - perform on a stage or theater; "She acts in this play"; "He acted in `Julius Caesar'"; "I played in `A Christmas Carol'"

be - have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun); "John is rich"; "This is not a good answer"

7.

act - have an effect or outcome; often the one desired or expected; "The voting process doesn't work as well as people thought"; "How does your idea work in practice?"; "This method doesn't work"; "The breaks of my new car act quickly"; "The medicine works only if you take it with a lot of water"

make for, wreak, bring, work, play - cause to happen or to occur as a consequence; "I cannot work a miracle"; "wreak havoc"; "bring comments"; "play a joke"; "The rain brought relief to the drought-stricken area"

behave, act, do - behave in a certain manner; show a certain behavior; conduct or comport oneself; "You should act like an adult"; "Don't behave like a fool"; "What makes her do this way?"; "The dog acts ferocious, but he is really afraid of people"

sham, feign, simulate, assume - make a pretence of; "She assumed indifference, even though she was seething with anger"; "he feigned sleep"

10.

act - perform on a stage or theater; "She acts in this play"; "He acted in `Julius Caesar'"; "I played in `A Christmas Carol'"

(= behave) → sich verhalten; act like a man! → sei ein Mann!; she acted as if or as though she was hurt/surprised etc → sie tat so, als ob sie verletzt/überraschtetc wäre; he acts like or as though he owns the place(inf) → er tut so, als ob der Laden ihm gehört(inf)

Nor was it merely the stranger who noticed this, because there was a native organization in Coketown itself, whose members were to be heard of in the House of Commons every session, indignantly petitioning for acts of parliament that should make these people religious by main force.

She referred to a matter that was a perpetual source of bewilderment to her--the extraordinary incapacity of the human race, in a world where the good is so unmistakably divided from the bad, of distinguishing one from the other, and embodying what ought to be done in a few large, simple Acts of Parliament, which would, in a very short time, completely change the lot of humanity.

When the war broke out in 1642 one of the first acts of Parliament, now at last free to work its will on the enemies of Puritanism, was to decree that 'whereas public sports do not well agree with public calamities, nor public stage-plays with the seasons of humiliation,' all dramatic performances should cease.

Nedumpara further stated that whenever any Acts of Parliament and statutory instruments are challenged in the Supreme Court, it is often argued by counsels who are MPs, which in a way is a severe erosion of the supremacy and authority of the Parliament.

The High Court agreed that the Royal Prerogative can be used to enter treaties but as membership of the European Union has resulted in numerous Acts of Parliament being passed as a result of membership and Acts of Parliament, which are passed by Parliament, can only be changed by Parliament, then Parliament must vote on the triggering of Article 50.

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